


In Some Awe

by VividVert



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Transformation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-24
Updated: 2015-03-24
Packaged: 2018-03-19 10:23:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3606630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VividVert/pseuds/VividVert
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which a dragon learns how to fly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Some Awe

**Author's Note:**

> Each 'section' focuses on one of the Sheperds and I hope to have one for every recruitable character (maybe not that spotpass characters. Maybe).

1.1 - Scales of Victory

"Robin! No! Ah gods, NO!" Chrom cried as his loyal friend began to fade. Robin waved goodbye before falling slack in synchronization with the Fell Dragon. The shepherds had no time to despair as The Felldragon began to fall to the ocean.

Grima's body violently jerked and began to spasm. The Shepherds felt Naga's power grab them and found themselves back on Origin Peak. From the island they watched in bitter victory as Grima's body plummeted down while violently shaking. The Felldragon's split open and something burst it's way out of the colossal corpse mid air.

"What is- Is that another dragon?" Sumia questioned.

"Grima was pregnant?" asked Lissa. 

"Grima was male. And undead." Libra stated. The second dragon crashed into the ocean and began flailing about. The beast finally righted itself and turned towards the island, paddling its way forward.

"It's coming this way!" Chrom warned as he readied his blade. 

"I hear something." said Panne as she cocked her head. "I know that voice... Robin?"

"Chroooooooooooom!" cried the dragon as it closer. 

"Wait, what?"

\---

Robin was a dragon. Somehow. They would need to talk to Naga again to get answers, but for now everyone was happy to have their friend back even if in a scaly and feathered form.

"How am I supposed to eat now?" asked Robin as he attempted to dry out his feathered wings. While he was miniscule compared to the mountainous Grima, he was certainly larger than the shepherd's manaketes. 

Robin was roughly six meters tall with a wing span he couldn't properly measure from his point of view with his six silver/white eyes. His six white feathered wings were long and completely dwarfed his serpentine body. His coloration varies with the scales of his back and limbs being of the same dark greyish violet as Grima while the scales on his throat and belly being of a more lavender shade. The tactician had several horns with the main pair extending from his temples and wrapping to the back of his head and then pointing up. Two more pairs ran in tandem down the side of his skull but they were much smaller than his first; Thick armor plates cascading down his elongated spine and all of Robin's new appearance made him uneasy. While he had many differences from the late Fell Dragon, he also has similarities. How would people react to his new towering form?

There was no way he could fit inside a building. No one in the Shepherds even had a tent big enough for his new body. What was he going to do for sustenance? "I would have to eat an entire bear for the upkeep this body will require. I would strip the forests bare!"

Perhaps he has a human-like form as the manaketes do? At least he would be able to enter doors that way.

All the Shepherds were setting up camp on Origin Peak while they wait for a ship to come a pick them up. That day might be a way off as many ships had been destroyed during Grima's rampage. Not that anyone was in a hurry now that the battle was over. Now was the time to heal and move forward.

\---

"I'm not sure how we are going to spar now." Chrom said idly. "Can you even hold a sword?"

"I can hold one, but it feels like I am wielding a needle." Complained Robin as he used one of his expansive wings to shield Chrom from the sun (Could they be used to shield from attacks as well?). Chrom had to resist the urge to pluck one of the white feathers right off in retaliation for the mothering. "And honestly, the falchion makes me nervous." Robin was always aware of his weaknesses and now he had to be wary of wyrmslayers (blade can only be used at close range=keep distance and use magic). The implication of flight was something to look forward to once he figured out how.

"My mighty needle is quite terrifying." Chrom declared and Robin giggled. 

"When can we expected to be picked up?" asked Robin.

"In a couple of days. Cordelia and Tiki flew back to the mainland to bring news of our survival. Once a ship crew is assembled they will come get us." Chrom said. "How are you fairing?"

"Fine, This body is not as disorienting as it should be. I still need to learn how to fly." The tactician gently flexed his wings, careful to not disturb his Shepherds. He understood the wings were large to support his body's weight, but any sort of movement was likely to blow away his allies as much as his enemies (Fly overhead to prevent disruptions in battle? But how would Robin be able to assist when so high in the air? Too far to accurately use magic).

"The Shepherds will help if you ever need it. I am sure they will give you help even when you don't want it. Especially if you don't want it. You will always be one of us." 

\---

Robin was far to large to help with any of the daily work that kept the camp running. He couldn't cook, he couldn't clean, and he couldn't train. He spent most of daylight hours laying outstretched in the sun thinking and planning.

Robin loathed to admit the truth, but he did not know what he was going to do with his life. The war was over and Chrom would no longer need a tactician, much less a dragon tactician. Who would hire him in this state?(Guard work perhaps? Dragons are intimidating.) Robin refused to ask Chrom for help despite the offer. The man would have his hands full running an entire country as well as fixing the damages done in Grima's rampage. Perhaps he should become a hermit and live in the mountains; basking in the sun and eating bears all day. 

White feathers shifted and the tactician looked over to see a smatter of white and yellow laying down on his lowest right wing. 

"I am not a pillow Lissa." Robin sighed while flexing his other wings ominously. It would be easy to flip her onto the dirt and he was sorely tempted. While he had forgiven her for the frog incidents, he would not forget them and the fact that the young princess would continue her pranks at a moments notice.

"Your feathers are softer than my pillows back home!" Lissa exclaimed and ran her fingers throw his feathers. Robin immediately dumped her off his wing and pulled all of his feathered limbs closer to his body. While the area was different, the touch felt similar to someone running fingers through his hair. The touch was far too intimate for his liking (over sensitivity=weakness. Get shielding). Lissa was adorable, yes, but she was like a baby sister to him. "HEY!" she shouted and made a futile attempt to brush the dust off her dress. "That is not how you treat a princess!"

The very same wing she laid on dropped down upon Lissa and covered her like a tarp. Robin laughed at her startled yelp. "Princess of the frogs if you ask me. Might be for the best if we hide you from the sun so you don't dry out." 

A sharp pain caused Robin to flinch his wing back into the air. The young princess proudly held a large white feather and began running back into the Shepherd's camp.

"LISSA!" yelled Robin and shifted his body anxiously. He couldn't exactly chase her through the rows of tents at this size (would he always need a companion to deal with things too small for him now?). She only laughed.

Robin would never forget her childish behavior, but he could never stay mad at her. Sometimes he wondered if he had a family before the adventure began and if he had a little sister that pranked him. Annoying or not, Lissa was family to him.

Later she returned with a cup of tea for her and a cooking pot of tea for him. She had hidden his stolen feather though.

\---

The ships had finally arrived and everyone was ready to get back to the mainland. Almost ready. No one knew how to get Robin across the sea. He still did now know how to fly despite the efforts of the manaketes. The main problem was the difference in wing numbers; two wings compared to Robin's six. Clearly flight was possible as Grima could fly with ease, but the tactician had such limited understanding of his new body. Any attempt at flight usually ended when one wing hit another and he slammed back down to earth. Humorous to some; painful to Robin. 

"Perhaps you could coil yourself around the mast." Suggested Frederick. Robin found it strange that he wasn't wearing his armor. He knew the armor omission was because the platemail had been crushed in the final battle. Still the sight was surreal to see the impeccable knight without his usual garb. 

"My wings are too large," said Robin in annoyance. "I'll get in the way of the deck hands." 

Frederick only huffed. "Then double your efforts in attempting to fly."

"It's not that simple! Even Grima had only two sets of wings and used his back legs as a third set and I wasn't exactly watching him for clue on how to fly." Robin pointed out. There was no way he could have possibly planned for this, the whole situation was unprecedented. 

Frederick huffed again before returning to bellowing orders at nearby Shepherds. There might not have been much that needed to be loaded onto the ships, but the knight would be damned before he allowed storage to be done poorly. The dragon watched as everyone moved briskly, eager to get home, and lamented his inability to give proper aid. 

"You are giving up to quickly. What happened to the tactician that had plans to slay the felldragon?" asked Frederick.

"...Frederick do you know why everyone is avoiding me? So far only Chrom, Lissa, and you have had actual conversations with me. Everyone else just watches from a distance." Surely they could not be a afraid of his new form; they were willing to face down the Grima then why be afraid of little Robin? They all interacted with him as if they were walking on eggshells.

The great knight took a few steps closer to the downcast dragon's head. "Your attempted sacrifice was... worrisome; They Shepherds are not sure how to handle the situation."

"It not as if I wanted to-"

Frederick furiously interrupted, "But you were willing! You were willing to throw away your life when the foul beast could have been slain without sacrifice!" The knight grimaced as Robin's wings drooped. "Why did you go against your promise to Prince Chrom?" 

"... I am one man. My life is not worth the lives of the future. I do not regret what I've done." Robin said. Even back then the tactician knew was lying when he promised to let Chrom deliver the finishing blow.

The knight hesitantly placed a hand on Robin's uppermost left wing. "Therein lies the problem; they will come to you in time, but only after they are sure you are not going to put yourself in danger. The Shepherds do not leave any man behind, we will build you a raft if we have to."

"I doubt there is enough wood on this island to support me; I'd be better off swim- swimming!" Robin perked up his head and looked to the ocean. "I swam to shore with ease. I'd just have to follow the ships!"

"If you were anyone else I'd say such a plan was madness. Then I remember you set fire to our own ships while we were still on them." Frederick noted with a small smile.

"It was a sound plan!" Defended Robin.

\---

When the ships reached the shore, Robin beached himself a fair distance away from the docks and began shaking the water out of his wings. He was trembling with exhausted and yet marveling at his absurd endurance. He just swam across the ocean and was able to keep up with quality ships! He needed to dry himself off before he allowed himself some rest, though the tactician did not know how long he could rest for. The Shepherds wanted to go home, to check on their families and friends.

The drying out was taking longer than he had hoped. Fluttering his wings did remove a fair amount of water from his feathers, but he was still soaked. Robin attempted to flap his wings harder almost sending the thin archer out to find him flying. 

"Robin! Stay your wings for a moment! Now hardly seems to be the time for more attempts at flight!" Cried Virion as he protected his hair from the whipping winds. "You do the Shepherds a disservice by denying us the right to see you every so gracefully collide with the earth!"

The dragon paused for a moment before draping one of his wet wings over Virion for his mockery. "I was not trying to fly; I was trying to dry off." Virion pushed his way out from under the mass of feathers and began straightening his hair and clothes.

"Was that necessary? Here I am out to find our lost tactician and he soaks me for my troubles." Virion huffed before giving Robin a look over. "Let us meet up the the others, shall we?" said the archer with a flourish of his hand. Robin sighed and began trotting along side Virion on there way to the town. The tactician was not overly familiar with the port town; south of Port Ferox and north of Plegia. Plenty of warehouses to store various shipments and a few taverns for sailors. 

Robin was still dead tired and had a few daydreams of collapsing onto the ground and falling asleep right there. When the port town came into view Virion directed the tactician to the east side of the town to a large warehouse. Even with its large double doors Robin had to fold his wings inward to enter. 

The building was surprisingly empty for a busy merchant and port town. Of the few boxes and bags that he did spot he recognized as the various supplies of the Shepherds. A pile of cloths of sheets had been layered upon each other in one corner of the building. 

"Prince Chrom sent word with our dearest Cordelia to empty out a warehouse for Shepherd use. The Feroxi people were more than happy to oblige considering our party includes their two Khans and Ylissean royalty." Virion said while Robin ignored him in favor of curling himself on the makeshift bed clearly made for him. 

The archer sighed at the wet heap that was his friend. Utterly undignified, but Virion could hardly fault him. Rest was well earned at this point. Robin gave a half-hearted wave with one of his wings. "Thank you."

"Think nothing of it." replied Virion before taking his leave.

\---

"So you're just a dragon now?" asked Sully as she carried in a huge basket covered by a cloth. "Not a manakete like the twerp?"

"Maybe? A normal manakete needs a dragonstone to become a dragon. Grima was always a dragon and needed a vessel to be made for him; he couldn't make one on his own," said Robin. He gave a curious sniff of the basket, but his limited experience with his new nose left him at only 'food' (his nose is so sensitive should be useful someday). "and Naga never used a stone. I think I am taking after Grima in this case." Sully put the large basket on the ground near his head and took off the cloth to show large cooked fish, whole loaves of bread, and a variety of large fruit. 

"Thank you," Robin said before delicately picking up a fish with his teeth, throwing it up into the air, and downing it in one swallow. His new stomach would dissolve the bone even if the concept made him uneasy. "What time is it? Is everyone still asleep?"

"Huge party last night and a lot of the others are hungover. Ha! I had the sense to know we are moving out today. I'm pretty sure the dumbasses had a drinking contest. Not sure who won but Anna was taking bets and made a killing." Sully stretched and rolled her shoulders. "Speaking of contests; You totally lost our contest."

Robin stopped reach for an apple while he tried to remember what in the world Sully was talking about. "Wait, you mean my terrible attempt at loosing weight?"

"Getting fit," Sully corrected with a smirk. The tactician gasped in disbelief. "you are not even fit enough to fly."

"I've been a dragon for only three days! This hardly counts!" In truth Robin had completely forgotten the contest when the war with Valm had started. 

"Sounds like you're just a sore loser." chided the cavalier. She squared her shoulders and puffed out her chest. "I bet you couldn't learn how to fly in a year!"

Robin raised his wings in defiance. "I refuse to be grounded for long; I'll be in the air in weeks!" said the tactician (too dangerous to be grounded no one will take a dragon who can't fly seriously).

Sully shifted her head before giving a grin. "How about we make it a new bet. If you learn how to fly in a month I'll... hmmm... I'll owe you a favor. When you fail you'll owe me a favor!" she said as her grin grew wider.

"Don't assume you will win, I picked up the Shepherd lifestyle fairly quickly and dragon life will be no different."

"Sure, sure. You had all the Shepherds holding your hand the entire time! Now you only have the twerp and little miss divine dragon to help. Good luck with that!" Sully laughed and waved on her way out of the warehouse. 

Robin began scarfing down the last of his meal and stretched his wings. A month to learn how to fly; shouldn't be too hard.

**Author's Note:**

> I am a terribly slow writer so I hope to have the next chapter done within the month, sorry.


End file.
